


#nongzoned

by 123666



Category: My Engineer (TV), My Engineer (TV) RPF
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Post Season 1, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:41:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123666/pseuds/123666
Summary: Frong hates the words nong and phi. He tries to hang out with Thara and be just friends but his feelings are getting too strong to hide. Thara seems oblivious.. but is he?Also there's Cupcake's birthday.
Relationships: Frong Korawit Kankun/Thara
Comments: 14
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *This was supposed to be a short and cute little fic but it ended up being not so short after all lol. Somehow Cupcake became kind of the main theme here and I ended up googling all kinds of lizard stuff in the middle of the night before I gave up because I don’t know what kind of a lizard Cupcake is or whether it’s a boy or a girl and also it doesn’t really matter. Lemme know if you know though lol  
> PSA I know nothing about plants or lizards so please don’t come from me if there’s blatant misinformation in this fic lmao  
> Also I mention Frong dying his hair in this because I keep looking at Shane’s pictures on ig and waiting for him to dye his hair dark again because that would mean that they are going to start filming again. But don’t get me wrong, he looks great with light hair too!  
> Anyway, Frong is a pining mess and Thara is just a cute weirdo*

Frong had changed his hair. In a desperate attempt to change something about his current situation in life and to be in charge of at least his hair, if not his feelings, he had dyed it lighter one evening. First had helped him since he knew what he was doing having dyed his hair red for a while now. He had asked Frong why he wanted to dye his hair all of a sudden but Frong had given no answer. It would be too ridiculous to say out loud. 

Because it was all because of a crush. Not just any old crush but the kind of crush you get when you first hate the person but then end up falling for them. The kind of crush that makes your stomach flip and your thoughts disorientated and gets your heart beating at the worst possible moments. The kind of crush you get after getting your heart broken and then you find a new love interest and your heart decides to love them for the amount of two people instead of just one. The kind of crush that literally crushed your heart with words like “we’re brothers”. The kind of crush that you just can’t get over. That’s what’s behind the sudden impulse of dying your hair alone in your home with a store bought color that doesn’t even work properly and probably leaves your hair all blotchy. Thankfully Frong’s hair turned out quite alright, though he still regretted his decision immediately.

Frong wasn’t sure when he had actually fallen for Thara. They hadn’t started exactly on the right foot after all. It was actually kind of stupid how they had first started quarreling. Frong had had a bad day and zero patience since he was worried about his mother and Thara with his smile and polite manners and all-around perfection had just been another thing Frong just could not take at that point. He had still had a crush on Duen back then, too. It seemed super silly now and Frong couldn’t even imagine himself together with Duen anymore. Anyway, somehow he had slowly gotten over his dislike of Thara, which in fairness might not have been dislike at all, at least judging by the way his heart started malfunctioning every time Thara was near him, though it took a long time to admit it even to himself that he didn’t hate Thara at all and still even longer before he knew he had truly fallen for him. He didn’t know whether it had been when he had seen Thara taking care of his mother and his mother liking him, or the time he and Thara had been on the most awkward double date with Bohn and Duen at the ice cream place. Thara had talked about Cupcake for the first time then and Frong had thought him to be a weirdo and afterwards Thara had taken him to the hospital on the back of his bike, which didn’t exactly change Frong’s perception of Thara as a weirdo. Or maybe Frong had fallen for him as they had sat next to each other on the bus going to the camp and had talked properly for the first time. They had talked about school and life after school, about hobbies and favourite places they had visited and Thara had introduced Cupcake to him. Thara had helped Frong with his car sickness and massaged his hand which had caused Frong to blush slightly. Thara’s hands had been soft but firm and skilled. He had also shown Frong how to puke neatly in a plastic bag and once again Frong had thought that Thara was a bit weird. Or maybe it had happened at the camp when they had talked about their fathers and Frong had felt like he had finally found someone who understood him. Or when they had been in their tent one night and Thara had asked Frong if he could let Cupcake free for a moment in the tent so that she could walk around for a bit. Frong had agreed and watched as Thara opened the lid of the container Cupcake was in and babbled sweetly to the lizard in it. Cupcake had run happily around the tent and Thara was beyond pleased as the lizard seemed to like Frong. Frong wasn’t so sure he liked it as much as Cupcake climbed all over him and settled on his neck. Suppressing a shudder he had kindly asked Thara to take the lizard back. Thara had smiled and removed her very gently from his neck. The featherlight touch of warm fingers on his neck had sent shivers down Frong’s back. Or maybe he had fallen just when Thara had declared them brothers, phi and nong. Maybe he was such a self saboteur that he only fell for people he couldn’t have. 

It had almost been a week since they had come back from the camp when one day Thara came to the flower shop. Seeing him coming in Frong hid like a child in the back of the shop. He felt super insecure about his hair and wished he hadn’t dyed it and he definitely didn’t want Thara to see it. Thara wasn’t vain like that, he wouldn’t understand something like dying your hair. He was a sensible, down to earth, kind of a fatherly figure who would think things like dying your hair childish. Lamenting his life decisions Frong hid in the backroom and wished no one would need him until Thara had taken his flowers and left. He lurked hidden in the backroom and listened for when it would be safe to come out again. He heard First greeting Thara and Thara answering politely and asking for the flowers he had ordered. He felt a slight stab in his chest hearing Thara’s voice. It was so pleasant, so soft and low and comforting and made his heart beat a little faster. He closed his eyes and just listened to Thara and First talking. Just some small talk and Thara asked about their mother. Why was he always so considerate? And then without a warning Thara asked: “Is Frong here? I have something I want to ask him.” 

Frong’s heart skipped a beat. Fuck. No. He could not face Thara now. Not in this mental state. What did he want to ask him anyway? He backed further in the backroom as he heard First say: “Sure, just a moment. Frong! Someone’s asking for you!” 

Maybe he could escape from the backdoor to the alley. Oh god this was a nightmare. He could hear First entering the room. “Frong, where are you? Someone’s looking for you”. 

“I’m busy, I can’t come now”, Frong tried but First wasn’t listening. “Come on, the customer is waiting. Don’t be rude”, he said sternly. 

“Tell him I’m not here, First. Please”, Frong begged but First was already pulling him towards the door to the shop.

“What’s wrong with you?” he muttered before he pushed Frong though the door. 

As Frong entered the shop he saw Thara looking at some flowers near the counter. For a second he was able to look at him before Thara turned around and smiled at him the way he always does, his eyes crinkling and his face glowing with happiness and Frong had to turn his eyes away. His heart pounded embarrassingly hard and he felt his face being a little flushed.

“Ah, hello Nong Frong”, Thara said smiling.

“Hello, Phi”, Frong answered with a small wai. Oh how he hated the words nong and phi.

“How can i help you?” he asked politely. Thara didn’t answer but stared at him. The heat was creeping along Frong’s neck by now.

“You’ve dyed your hair”, Thara said.

“Oh, yeah..” Frong muttered and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. He wished Thara would stop looking at him. He was sure Thara hated his hair and thought him childish and vain and he wished he had put on a hat or something to hide his mistake. But Thara smiled even wider and said: “I like it. You look nice”. 

Frong wanted to run and hide. It was now impossible to hide the redness that was blazing on his cheeks and neck. He muttered: “Thanks, Phi”, unable to look at Thara. Oh how he wished that another customer would come in and save him from this situation. 

“Anyway”, Thara said after a slight pause. “I wanted to ask you something. I thought about hosting a small gathering, nothing big, just a small party and I wondered if you wanted to come. This Sunday at noon. It’s Cupcake’s birthday.“

Frong stared at him. How had he ever fallen for a guy who held a birthday party for a lizard. But who cared about that now! Thara had asked him to come! He had specifically asked him himself! How could Frong say no. 

“Sure, I’ll come’’, he said and smiled as he saw Thara beaming at him. How could a grown man be so adorable?

“What does Cupcake like, you know, for a present?” he asked awkwardly. 

“Oh no need, no need. It’s just nice if you all come'', Thara said and Frong nodded.

“Okay, well. I’ll see you then. Text me the address?” 

“Sure. See you then. I can’t wait”, Thara said with such excitement that Frong couldn’t help but chuckle a little. 

Though Frong had agreed to bring no present he still found himself in a pet store that Friday. He had no idea what you would give a lizard for its birthday but he figured this was the place to ask. Walking in he saw many kinds of small pets: rabbits, rats, fish, some mice like creatures, spiders, snakes and some of cupcake’s little lizard cousins. Looking at the lizards in their terrariums he smiled a little. They were cute enough alright. Who would have thought that he would end up liking lizards (or people who like lizards). 

“Good day to you, sir. Are you perhaps looking to buy a pet lizard? These are excellent for first time lizard owners, very easy to maintain and sweet natured. Would you like to look at them more closely?” 

A salesperson had come next to Frong and was now chatting excitedly about the lizards to him. Frong was slightly taken aback and muttered: “Oh, no, thank you.”

“Oh, okay. How may I help you then?” the girl asked, smiling widely. 

"Actually, I was here to look for a present. For a lizard. Or my friend really, it’s his lizard you see”, Frong said feeling a bit stupid. “So, what do lizards like? What should I get?”

“What kind of lizard does your friend have?” the salesperson asked keenly.

“Oh, I don’t know. It looks kind of like these'', Frong said pointing at the lizards he had just been looking at. 

“Okay, so probably a gecko then. Do you remember which breed?”

“No, sorry”, Frong said, feeling like he had let Thara down. Thara must have told him this at some point.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. All geckos like mostly the same things. Food is always a good present if you don’t know the animal more personally. Everyone likes snacks, right?” the salesperson babbled and led Frong towards a wall with all the different kinds of animal food you could imagine. 

“Geckos all really like meal worms so that’s a safe option. There’s also a bag here with a mix of worms, spiders and small roaches. It’s been really popular. Also if the lizards is a bigger one then we do have some rats and other little creatures in the freezer but i don’t think that's the best option right now.” 

Frong tried to keep his expression neutral and not show his disgust at the things the girl was telling him but as she put the bag of mixed insects and worms in his hand he had to stifle a shudder and a gag. “No. Thank you”, he managed to croak as the salesperson asked him if he needed anything else.

“Thank you and have a nice day. I recommend you keep these in the fridge until you give them to your friend in order for them to stay as fresh as possible”, the salesperson advised him as Frong left the store. When he got home and put the bag full of insects and worms in his fridge he wondered how far he was willing to go for love. 

As Frong got to Thara’s place that Sunday he felt nervous. He stopped in front of his building and took a deep breath. There was really nothing to be nervous about. There would be other people, he could hide from Thara if things got too awkward and it wasn’t like he was going out on a date with him. “We’re brothers, we’re brothers”, he reminded himself and shook his head. This was just like meeting any other friend. 

That thought was out of the window though the second Thara opened the door for him. The smile on his face was so bright and welcoming that it made Frong breathless and all the feelings that should not be felt towards a brother rushed to the surface. 

“Come in, come in!” Thara exclaimed and pulled Frong inside. Frong could feel a slight tingling feeling on his arm where Thara had just touched him. He offered Thara a small bag with a jungle print which contained Cupcake’s present.

“Here. Um, this is for Cupcake”, he said shyly.

“I told you there was no need, Nong. But thank you very much”, Thara said smiling warmly at him. Then he looked into the bag and pulled out the lizard snacks. “These are Cupcake’s favorite! We must give her one right away!” 

“Oh, maybe later, Phi” Frong hastened to say and patted Thara lightly on the arm. 

“Right, right, later” Thara said sounding a little distracted before he ushered Frong further inside his apartment.

“Do come sit here, Nong. Others are already here. There’s Duen and Bohn and King who you already know and there is one of my friends from my faculty, P’Tom. And now that we are all here I think it’s time to bring the birthday girl to the party!” he said excitedly and vanished into another room. 

Frong sat down next to King and greeted everyone. They all looked quite awkward as they greeted him back. Duen was there because he was Thara’s cousin and the closest to him. He had bought Cupcake a hollow clay strawberry which was like a tiny house where Cupcake could hang out in her terrarium. Bohn was with Duen because, well, Bohn was always with him. He looked kind of sulky and didn’t really talk to anyone except Duen and King. King was there apparently because he had made the mistake of showing some interest towards Cupcake at the camp and Thara had talked his ear off about lizards after that. Now he had invited King because he thought King was interested in lizards and possibly wanted one of his own. King had not wanted to be rude so he came and brought a nice vine which could be put in Cupcake’s terrarium. The fourth guest, P’Tom, was one of Thara’s long time friends and the most used to oddities such as birthday parties for lizards. This was the fourth party he had attended. He had brought Cupcake a companion, a lizard made out of clay which he had made himself. 

Thara was over the moon about all of these gifts. After he had returned with Cupcake in his hands (she was wearing a tiny little party hat) he thanked everyone heartily for coming and for the presents and then presented them all to Cupcake. She seemed pleased with the strawberry house and climbed happily inside, from where she kept glaring at them all. Seeing this Duen exclaimed happily “Oh i’m glad she likes it!”

She was a bit mistrustful about the fake lizard but P’Tom said that she would probably like it since as it was made out of clay it would heat up from the heat lamps over her terrarium and it would be a nice place to lay on. 

“Do you want to give her one now?” Thara asked Frong as he grabbed Frong’s present and took out a roach.

“Umh, it’s okay, you can give it to her, Phi. I don’t want to scare her”, Frong muttered and thankfully Thara agreed. They all watched with a mix of disgust and interest as Cupcake took the offered roach and munched it. 

After having eaten a couple more snacks Cupcake retreated back to her strawberry house and fell asleep while Thara brought out a cake and some refreshments. The cake was shaped like a lizard which was kind of gruesome considering that it was Cupcake’s birthday they were celebrating but it tasted good. They talked and laughed and Thara told funny stories about Cupcake like the one time she had accidentally traveled to school in Thara’s bag and his teacher had had a fit. 

After a while Duen and Bohn said that they had to leave and while Bohn was putting on his shoes Duen gave a whispered apology to Thara about Bohn's sulky manner.

“He’s just a little bit moody with me nowadays, I’m sorry. This was a lovely party. See you soon, Phi!” 

King left with the two of them and Frong was left with just Thara and P’Tom. He thought whether he should have left with the others and leave the two friends to hang out alone but he just couldn’t bring himself to stand up and leave and Thara wasn’t showing any signs that he should, so he stayed. 

“Come”, Thara said smiling as he got up and took the clay strawberry with Cupcake still asleep in it off the table.

“Can you bring the other things with you?” he asked and Frong and P’Tom grabbed the vine King had brought, P’Tom’s clay lizard and Frong’s insect snacks and followed Thara into a room with a huge terrarium. He smiled excitedly and said “We can redecorate'', pointing at the terrarium.

Frong felt such fondness towards Thara as he watched him planning how they should drape the vine in the terrarium or where they should put the strawberry and what would be the optimal place to put the clay lizard. 

“It shouldn’t be right next to the place she likes to sleep in, you know. In case she’s afraid of it”, Thara said with his face scrunched up as he thought hard. 

In the end, as they had finally decided the best placements for all the new gifts, Thara lifted the lizard gently into her redecorated home and watched intently as she took in her surroundings.  
“Do you like it Cupcake? Do you feel at home?” he asked her gently and Frong felt his heart swell with emotions. Thara was so unique, so unashamedly himself that Frong couldn’t help but to be in awe of him. He was a weirdo, truly, but in a wonderful way, in a way which made Frong fall all the more deeply for him. How could he not when he saw this handsome and talented man being so gentle and loving and caring towards this tiny little creature.

Frong hadn’t noticed that he had been staring at Thara until he heard a cough from behind him and saw P’Tom looking at him with a meaningful look.

“Uh, Thara, I think I should get going now too. I’ve got to, uhm, walk the dog” Tom said giving Frong a quick grin.

“Oh okay. Thanks for coming, buddy, “ Thara said and walked him to the door. Frong was left alone with Cupcake for a moment before Thara came back.

“You don’t have to leave yet, right?” he asked. 

“Um, no, not yet” he said, wondering whether Thara wanted him to leave. 

“Good”, Thara said with a wide smile which reassured Frong. 

“Do you want to feed him now?” Thara asked him expectantly and Frong said “Sure”. Truth be told, he wasn’t that excited about feeding disgusting things to a lizard but he knew it would mean a lot to Thara so he agreed. He hesitated as Thara offered him a spider from the bag. 

“Can I give her a worm instead?” he asked tentatively. “I’m sorry, it’s just that.. spiders are a bit gross…” He was afraid that Thara would find this childish and stupid but Thara just laughed and gave him a worm instead. It took a moment for Cupcake to appear from his strawberry house and she sniffed Frong’s fingers mistrustfully but eventually took the worm from him and ate it. Frong thought that if you were able to forget what you were feeding her it was almost cute. 

Thara beamed at him. “She usually never trusts new people. Wow, she must remember you from the camp.” The look of pure happiness was too much for Frong and he had to turn away so that he wouldn’t do anything stupid like kiss Thara or blurt out how adorable he found him.

They left Cupcake to sleep in peace and went back to the living room.  
“You know, I do know it’s silly for me to have a birthday party for Cupcake”, Thara said as they walked over to the couch. “But why not. I like many things that might seem silly to others but they make me happy.“

Frong smiled at him and Thara smiled back. 

“I don’t think it’s that silly. You love Cupcake so why not celebrate her. It’s not that different after all than celebrating a dog’s birthday. “ Thara looked at him, raising his eyebrows a little.

“Okay, maybe it is just a tiny bit weird but who cares if it makes you happy”, Frong admitted and they both laughed. 

Later Thara showed Frong all the little places he had built for Cupcake around his flat where she could sit when she wasn’t in her terrarium. 

“I like to keep her with me. If i’m doing something for school I’ll keep her here (he showed a large bowl on the desk with small rocks and a succulent in it) or if I’m cooking she likes to hang here (there was a tree branch of some kind hanging from the ceiling) or if I’m reading or something she usually sits here on the windowsill (there was an assortment of bigger rocks on the windowsill and the sun rays hit them so that they were slightly warm). Looking at all the things Thara had done for Cupcake Frong thought in his mind that he should be lucky if Thara ever cared about him even a fraction of the amount he cared about his lizard. 

“I would really like to make a spot for her with some plants but I’m not sure what she would like” Thara said looking thoughtful. “I think it has to be something that likes dry places since Cupcake is from the desert and I think she would like that type of plants the most.”

“If you want I can try to look for some plants that are native to the places where Cupcake would live in the wild. I could get some delivered to our shop”, Frong said trying to be helpful.

“Would you? That would be so nice! Thank you, Nong”, Thara said happily and patted him on the shoulder.

They hang out till the evening talking and getting to know each other more. It was curious how comfortable Frong was feeling with Thara now, like they had known each other for a long time. He still felt a little shy and butterflies kept fluttering around in his stomach but still there was this undeniable comfort he felt around Thara. Frong couldn’t help himself as his mind started wandering into some distant worlds where he was a part of Thara’s everyday life, where they shared their lives and were happy together. It wasn’t even hard to imagine. They just seemed to click, to match perfectly, to fit into each other's worlds. The only thing interrupting his beautiful fantasies were those gut-wrenching words that popped up everywhere: phi, nong; brothers. 

It had gotten dark before Frong realised he should probably head home soon. He got up and thanked Thara and started to gather his things when Thara said: “I’ll walk you home. It’s getting late.” 

“No need, Phi. Honestly, you don’t have to”, Frong hastened to say but Thara had already put on his shoes. 

“It’s not safe to walk alone in the dark, I’ll go with you”, he said firmly and Frong didn’t argue. In fact he was quite pleased. At least Thara cared about him a little. 

They walked for a while in silence before Frong could hear a slight huff from next to him. 

“What’s wrong, Phi?” he asked. 

“Nothing”, Thara answered. 

“Just all this trash on the street. Too bad I didn’t take any bag with me so I could pick it up. It’s so sad that some people still litter though we know how bad it is for the environment.” 

“Right”, Frong said looking around. There really was a lot of trash around. He glanced up at Thara who looked truly upset and wondered how someone could be so perfect. Thara really cared about everyone and everything. All he did was help the world around him and make it a better place day by day. If Frong had had any kind of a bag with him he would have picked up every single one of those pieces of trash that made Thara look so miserable but sadly he didn’t have one with him. 

“I’ll just come pick them up tomorrow. It’s a good way of relieving stress anyway. You get some fresh air and do something good at the same time” Thara said and he looked a bit happier. 

“That’s nice”, Frong said smiling at him. Thara truly was the best person. 

“Do you want to come with me sometime?” Thara asked him with a hopeful tone in his voice. Frong looked at him and said: “Sure. Just text me when” and Thara beamed at him.

It was nice and peaceful outside and both were walking as slowly as possible without even  
realizing it. It seemed like neither of them wanted to reach the destination. They had been quiet for a while now but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It seemed to be filled with something unspoken. As they reached Frong’s home they turned to look at each other and smiled. 

“Sweet dreams, Phi”, Frong said and he wasn’t sure but for a second he thought he had seen a flicker of something in Thara’s eyes.

“Sweet dreams, Nong.”


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of days had passed since Cupcake’s birthday party and Frong could still feel butterflies in his stomach when he thought about the time he had got to spend alone with Thara. The desperation which had led him to dye his hair and hide from Thara in the backroom of the flower shop had almost completely vanished and he had comfortably settled into the baby pink haize of _what if_. The comfort he felt around Thara and the way they had spent almost an entire day together had made him think that maybe, just maybe Thara had felt something too. And the look Frong had thought he had seen in Thara’s eyes when he had walked him home… maybe, just maybe.

The only thing Frong felt slightly embarrassed about was the fact that P’Tom had clearly seen the way he had been looking at Thara and understood what it meant. He was really too obvious for his own good and did not wish for everyone to realise the feelings he had for Thara, especially if they were just one sided. Being lovesick was bad enough on it’s own without everyone knowing about his heartache, like they had with Duen. It wasn’t like Frong was ashamed about being gay. No, everyone who mattered had known for a long time and no one seemed to have a problem with it. Even Thara knew since he knew about Duen and he had never mentioned it once. This gave Frong some hope too. At least he had nothing against gays (like Thara would ever have anything against anyone).

Frong had been patiently waiting for Thara to text him about the trash picking they had agreed to do at some point. Thara had said ‘sometime’ which could mean anything from tomorrow to somewhere in the next twenty years but Frong hoped it meant ‘pretty soon’. Not that he really cared for picking trash, he just really wanted to see Thara again. Of course it was great that he could see him while doing something good for the planet as well but that wasn’t really Frong’s priority. He kept glancing at his phone hoping that a message from Thara would appear on the screen. It didn’t.

On Thursday Frong went to the flower shop after his classes to see his mother and First. He didn’t have work that day but he had nothing better to do anyway so he could spend time there as well as anywhere and maybe help out a little. He was in the backroom unboxing some new pots as he heard the bell on the door chime and a familiar voice greeting his mother.

“Hello, ma’am. How are you feeling? Better I hope?”

Frong could hear his mother answering: “Yes, thank you, Doctor. How nice to see you again. I’ve been very well, thanks to you.”

Frong could almost see how Thara would smile at his mother and swat away the compliment saying he barely did anything, and the thought made him smile to himself. Always so modest.

“Well, how can I help you, Doctor. Your order is not here until tomorrow”, Frong heard his mother say kindly.

“Yes, ma’am. I was wondering whether Frong was here”, Thara said and Frong jumped up from the floor.

YEs. Yes he was. He took out his phone and checked his hair from the front camera as his mother came into the backroom.

“Frong, dear. The nice young doctor is here to see you.”

“Yes, mom. Thank you!” Frong said and almost ran out of the room. Panting slightly he entered the shop and smiled. “Hello, Phi.”

“Hello, Nong. Are you free? I was just on my way to pick up some trash from the campus parking lot and I thought that maybe you would like to join me this time.”

Frong’s heart swelled. “Yes, Phi. I would love to. If..”, he turned to look at his mother. “Is it okay if I go? Or do you need me in the shop? I can stay to help out if you need me.”

“No, no, Frong dear. We will be okay with First. Go and have fun!” his mother said, smiling at them both.

Frong turned to Thara who smiled at him and said: “Well, let’s go then!”

It wasn’t really that exciting to pick up trash but somehow in the right company time seemed to fly and Frong found himself quite enjoying the activity. As a gentleman Thara had insisted that Frong used his trash picker and since they had just one he had to pick the trash up by hand. He did wear rubber gloves however so Frong didn’t have to feel too bad about it.

They picked for hours and it was actually really satisfying to see the impact of it as they cleared the whole parking lot area. While they were picking they talked about everything. Thara talked about his internship at the school clinic and about how he suspected that Cupcake had a crush on her new clay lizard buddy. He also talked about how he had started his hobby of picking trash from around the school campus and how he wanted to organize an event around this subject. Frong listened and laughed and told him he would help with the event as much as possible if Thara decided to really make it happen. He also told him that he had looked into all the different kinds of desert plants that Cupcake might like and asked if maybe Thara could come to the shop some day to take a look at them and see which ones he wanted Frong to order to the shop. Thara was very excited about this and agreed to come the next week.

As the sun started setting and it became too dark to see the trash properly they finally called it a day. They leaned against a fence that surrounded the parking lot and looked around pleased with their work.

“Good job, Nong!” Thara said smiling at Frong.

“Thanks for inviting me, Phi. It was actually quite fun”, Frong said and smiled back. He was feeling tired and a bit sore but happy and content to be there with Thara. Absentmindedly he massaged his neck with one hand and let out a small gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Thara asked at once.

“Nothing, Phi. I’m fine”, Frong tried but Thara could not be fooled.

“A sore neck, right?” he asked and Frong nodded.

“Here, let me take a look”, he said and came closer. He put his hand on Frong’s neck and made a few massaging movements making shivers run down Frong’s back. Frong closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Too soon however Thara removed his hand and patted him on the shoulder.

“Yes, well that can happen the first time. Your neck is not used to you looking down for so long so it will get a bit sore. Just put something warm on it when you get home or take a hot shower so your muscles will relax. That way you won’t feel so sore tomorrow.”

Frong nodded and thanked Thara, feeling his neck tingling where Thara’s fingers had touched.

“Are you hungry?” Thara asked Frong as they began walking away from the campus.

“There’s a nice little noodle place near here. We could go if you want to.”

Frong agreed and they headed towards the small restaurant near the road.

As they reached it Frong saw that the place was actually quite cute with fairy lights lighting up the tables in the dark. He glanced up at Thara who was leading him to a table and his heart started pounding a little. He tried to reason with himself that this was nothing romantic, that he mustn't let his imagination run wild, that Thara had brought him here to eat as a brother and nothing more but still he couldn’t help his brain which was already painting pictures in his head of himself and Thara in the dim lighting, getting closer, looking deeply in each other’s eyes, their fingers touching…

“Thara!” came a scream from somewhere behind Frong and Thara’s face lit up in a smile. He stood up and waved until a young woman came to them and hugged him.

“Hello, P’Sofie! Long time no see!” Thara said laughing while they hugged. Frong watched in horror as the woman, who was apparently called Sofie, kissed Thara on both cheeks.

“Please, Thara dear, don’t call me Phi. It makes me feel awfully old!” she said and laughed.

“Oh, Frong, this is my friend Sofie”, Thara said turning to Frong like he had just remembered that he was there too. “Sofie, this is Frong, a junior of mine.”

The words hit Frong like someone had punched him in the stomach. He wanted to grimace but instead he gave Sofie a polite smile and a wai and greeted her.

“Oh, how handsome!” Sofie screamed and sat in the empty chair on their table. “And where do you know each other from? University? Are you a med student, too, Nong Frong?” she asked curiously.

“No, I’m not, Phi. I study business administration”, Frong said politely.

“Yes, it’s a bit of a long story how we got to know each other but let's just say we became friends in a volunteer camp”, Thara said and smiled at Frong who did his best to smile back. The word ‘junior’ was still echoing in his head.

“Oh how wonderful!” Sofie said. “But Thara dear, how are you? We haven’t seen each other in such a long time. Tell me everything!” she continued and as she and Thara began telling each other about what they had been doing for the last year Frong let himself zone out.

What had he been thinking? Thara had never made any suggestion that they would be anything other than friends or brothers as he had said it. What was wrong with him, Frong, that he kept imagining scenarios in his head that lead only to his own heartache. He wished he could just disappear and leave Thara and Sofie to talk in peace but he didn’t want to be rude so he ate in silence and gave his most convincing fake smile and nodded if either of them looked his way. A couple of times he saw Thara glancing at him with a concerned look but didn’t bother to engage in the conversation. They were doing fine without him.

As they had finally finished eating Frong stood up to leave.

“I must get going now”, he said avoiding Thara’s eyes. “Uh, thank you, Phi. I’ll… see you later.”

He gave both of them a wai and turned to leave.

“Wait, Frong! I’ll walk with you”, he heard Thara yell after him and turned back.

“No, thanks, Phi. You should stay with your friend. I’m sure you have a lot to catch up on”, Frong said, giving them a strained smile before leaving.

As Frong got home that evening his mother was waiting for him.

“Oh, Frong! You were out late. Were you with Doctor Thara this whole time?” she asked as he came in.

“Yes. We were picking up trash and then went to eat”, Frong said, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

“I didn’t know you were friends. How lovely! And he’s so handsome, too. You would get a nice boyfriend out of him, wouldn’t you Frong?” his mother said smiling kindly. Frong wanted to cry.

“We’re just friends, mom”, he said swallowing the bitterness in his throat.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to upset you dear!” she said as she noticed Frong’s expression faltering. “I just thought… he’s so nice and everything. I’m very glad that you are friends. But are you okay, Frong dear?”

“Yes, I’m fine”, he said trying to smile at her reassuringly.

“He’s a good friend. I’ll go to sleep now”, he said and slumped upstairs to his room. His mother looked after him with a sad expression and could hear how Frong muttered quietly “Friends” as he walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Frong was drunk. There was no denying it. His vision was blurred, his speech was slurred and everything seemed twice as funny as it normally did. He was such a lightweight yet he never learned and ended up being the one everyone had to take care of. Learning from at least some past mistakes Frong had told his friends to take away his phone the moment he showed any sign of intoxication and after his third drink they had sneaked it out of his pocket. He hadn’t given any names but he had told them that there was a certain someone who he would probably try to drunk dial and knowing the disaster that was drunk Frong his friends had understood the seriousness of the situation.

He was on his fifth drink by the time he saw that specific certain someone walking towards the bar. 

“Phi! Hey, P’Thara!” Frong yelled across the bar making every single person in it turn to look at him. His friends shushed him and made apologies and wai’d everyone in the vicinity to say sorry, embarrassed by his behavior.

“Shh, shut it, Frong. Just go say hello yourself, don’t yell across the bar!” his friend hissed at him and Frong made an apologetic gesture in his direction as he got up. 

Thara was smiling at him as Frong stumbled towards him and came to meet him halfway, like the gentleman he was. 

“Hello, Nong. Are you okay?” he said laughing. 

“I’m great”, Frong said simply and flopped onto a barstool Thara had walked him to. 

“What are you doing here?” Thara asked, looking slightly amused. “Are you here with friends?” 

Frong pointed at his friends who were all clearly staring at them. “Yes. Just hanging out”, he said.

Thara waved at them and they waved awkwardly back whispering to one another. 

“What about you, Phi? Are you here with friends too?” Frong asked, swaying a little on his stool. 

“Yes”, Thara grunted as he grabbed Fong by the arm and pulled him back on the stool he was just about to fall off of. “They’re all outside. Just grabbing some drinks after work.”

Thara waved the bartender over, whispered something to him and sat next to Frong on another stool. He smiled so warmly at Frong that if Frong hadn’t been so drunk he wouldn't have had the guts to smile back. Even now it made his stomach turn around but encouraged by the liquid little devil that was alcohol he winked at Thara. It made Thara laugh.

“Oh, you are so drunk, Nong”, he chuckled and ruffled Frong’s hair. 

“I’m fine, Phi. You don’t have to carry me home this time”, Frong said. “You can if you want to, though”, he added with a devilish grin and made Thara laugh again. 

Then the bartender was back and handed them two drinks. Thara offered one to Frong who took it willingly and clinked their glasses together before taking a sip. 

“Phi! This is water!” he burst out looking highly disappointed. 

“Yes, it is”, Thara said chuckling. “Drink it. It’s good for your fluid balance.” 

Frong gave him a mutinous scowl but drank his water nonetheless. 

“You are such a doctor”, he said after he had emptied his glass. 

“I’m only a medical student, not a doctor yet”, Thara said smiling but Frong kept muttering: “P’Doctor, P’Doctor.” 

He was now very much in Thara’s face and poked his cheek with his finger with every word he said. “Handsome, smart, great P’Doctor.” 

For a second Frong forgot what he was doing and just stroked Thara’s cheek with his finger. Then realising how incriminating this must look he looked up into Thara’s eyes and pulled quickly away from him. Thara looked a bit confused but smiled all the same. 

“Okay”, he said amused. “Maybe it’s time you should go home. Come on, I’ll come with you.” 

He got up and ushered Frong to stand up too but he slumped against Thara and wined: “Noo, I don’t want to go yeeet. Don’t make me, Thara.” 

But Thara just smiled at him and pulled him up again. 

“Come on, Nong. Let’s go.” 

“Fine, I’ll come. But only if you take me to your place. I don’t want to go home yet”, Frong said pouting. 

“Ah, I don’t know..”, Thara started but Frong kept whining until he agreed. 

“Fine. I’ll take you to my place. Come on”, he said laughing and they left.

They walked towards Thara’s place, slowly and silently. Frong’s head was full of wild ideas like taking Thara’s hand or jumping on his back for a piggyback ride. He did neither however because no matter how drunk he was there was still the underlying thought: we are phi and nong, just brothers. Somehow they ended up walking very close to one another and more than once their fingers slided past each other’s with the faintest touch. Even this smallest of touches made Frong feel butterflies in his stomach. 

“Nong?” Thara asked tentatively after a long silence.

“Hmm?”

“On Thursday.. was everything alright? You seemed kind of.. different. And you left so quickly.” Thara was speaking very carefully but looked at Frong intently. 

Frong felt his heart drop to his stomach. Oh god, he had been too obvious. He closed his eyes and tried to make up something clever to say but his drunken brain couldn’t come up with anything. 

“Fine, Phi, fine. I was totally fine. I just.. didn’t want to bother you, you know. I didn’t want to be the third wheel”, he blabbered nervously. He didn’t dare to look at Thara afraid that he would give himself away but the sadness in Thara’s voice made him glance up at him. 

“I’m sorry, Nong”, he said. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way, like a third wheel. It wasn’t my intention.” 

“Oh no, I didn’t mean to blame you, Phi”, Frong hastened to say. “I just wanted to give you some space and …” His voice faded away as he couldn’t come up with anything more to say. They walked in silence once more. 

“Erm, who was the girl anyway? I never got the chance to ask”, Frong asked after a while. “A girlfriend? An ex girlfriend? Someone you want to be your girlfriend?” he continued, his heart starting to beat faster. He saw from the corner of his eyes that Thara was smiling. 

“No, nothing like that, Nong”, he said with a gentle voice. “She and I have been friends since childhood. That’s it.” 

Frong wasn’t quite convinced yet. “She called you dear, though. And kissed you.” 

Thara laughed. “Yes, she does that. I’m so used to it that I forget that other people might find it odd. She doesn’t mean anything by it though. She’s half french and has lived half her life there so she has some habits that may seem a bit peculiar to us.” 

Frong felt an enormous relief but said only: “Oh. Right.”

“Here we are'', Thara said as he guided Frong inside his flat. Frong kicked off his shoes and slumped on the couch like he lived there. Thara laughed at him.

“Wait there. I’ll make you some tea”, he said and put some water to boil. 

“Where’s Cupcake?”, Frong asked. “I want to see her.” 

With the most pleased expression on his face Thara vanished for a moment and when he came back he was carrying Cupcake in his hand. 

“Here she is”, he said happily. “Do you want to hold her?” 

“Yes”, Frong said, surprising even himself. He held up his hands ready to take the small lizard and Thara placed her carefully on them. She weighed almost nothing and felt strange, nothing like anything Frong had ever touched before. A bit slimy but unexpectedly soft. 

“Aren’t you a cutie?” Frong babbled to her in his drunken haze and patted her tiny head softly. If he could’ve seen the look on Thara’s face then his heart would have probably failed him.

After a while Cupcake got bored however and Thara took her back to her terrarium. He poured some tea for both of them and sat next to Frong on the couch. As they sipped their tea in comfortable silence Frong thought how wonderfully domestic this was and how he would love to live with Thara like this. 

“Should you tell your mother you’re not coming home tonight?” Thara asked after a while.

“Oh. I probably should but I don’t have my phone”, Frong said, only just noticing that he had left his phone with his friends. He told Thara this.

“Why exactly did you give your phone away?” he asked, confused. 

“Well, I- um, I.. tend to lose my things when I’m drunk”, Frong lied. 

“Oh, okay. Well, you can call from my phone if you want. Or maybe text since it’s quite late already”, Thara offered, giving Frong his phone. 

“Thanks, Phi”, Frong said, taking the phone. He wrote a short message telling his mother he was sleeping at a friend’s and not to worry before handing the phone back to Thara and thanking him again. 

After this Thara asked Frong if he would like to take a shower before bed. Frong said that he did and Thara told him to take a fresh towel and a new toothbrush from the cabinet. 

“Use whatever you want in there”, he said and Frong nodded. 

“But, Nong”, he said before Frong could close the door. “Just don’t drown in there, okay?” he chuckled. 

Frong gave him another one of his devilish grins. “Maybe you should come help me, Phi, or I might slip and fall”, he said. Oh god, he was still way too drunk. Luckily Thara just laughed and said: “Just go and I’ll get you some clothes ready.”

When he came out of the shower Thara had put on the bed for him a fresh pair of boxers and shorts and a t-shirt. Frong felt slightly mortified that he had to borrow boxers from Thara (and to return them at some point) but the warm clothes felt nice on him now that he felt all sleepy. Thara took a shower while he changed and when he came out of the bathroom Frong was already under the covers in his bed. 

He opened his eyes as Thara climbed next to him in the bed. 

“I hope you don’t mind if we share the bed”, he said smiling at Frong. “It’s just that the couch is a bit small to sleep in.” 

Frong said nothing but closed his eyes and snuggled in more comfortably. As Thara turned off the light next to the bed he could feel Frong curling up right next to him and sighing contentedly.


	4. Chapter 4

Frong woke up to a slight clinking and tingling of dishes. For a moment he didn’t remember where he was and thought that it was probably his mother who was making breakfast in the kitchen. Without opening his eyes he laid for a moment under the covers trying to wake up. For some reason his head hurt a lot. As he rolled over he realised that the sun was hitting his face from a different angle than it usually did in his room. And the sheets didn’t smell like the laundry detergent his mother used either. And come to think of it he never really slept in shorts and a t-shirt.

Opening his eyes he took in his surroundings little by little. The sun was blazing in through the window and caused him to feel a twinge of pain in his head. Frong climbed into a sitting position and tousled his hair. The memories started to come back. He was at Thara’s, he had begged to come there last night. Frong groaned and slumped back on the bed. What other foolish things had he done last night? He couldn’t remember half of it. Just as Frong was starting to consider his options of how he could escape without Thara noticing him, the door of the bedroom opened and Thara came in. He was carrying a breakfast tray and looked just as adorable as the person you had a crush on could look when they had just woken up.

Seeing Thara like this, with his hair all messy from sleeping and in his pyjama shorts and tank top made Frong feel such a surge of emotions towards the other man that he felt like screaming. It made him think about sloppy morning kisses under the covers, sleepy voices whispering sweet nothings and wandering hands that woke you up just the right way. He had to shake his head in order to get rid of these thoughts since those kinds of things were not on the list of _things to do with your brother_.

Thara smiled warmly at him and came to sit on the bed with him. Frong made some room on the bed so he could set the breakfast tray on it. There were two cups of coffee, two small bowls of fruit, a big omelet and rice and two glasses of juice. It looked like the most fantastic thing Frong had ever seen (if you didn’t count the man sitting in front of him on the bed).

“Good morning!” Thara said with his croaky morning voice to Frong making his heart flutter.

“Morning”, Frong replied, his voice equally as croaky as Thara’s.

“Did you sleep well?” Thara asked him and he nodded feeling still a bit dazed.

“Here, I brought us some breakfast. Tuck in'', Thara said and offered him one of the cups of coffee. Frong took it, mumbled a thank you and took a sip. It was just the way he liked it, a little bit of milk and no sugar. He didn’t ask how Thara knew how he liked his coffee, he was too tired. Maybe he’d ask some other time.

They ate in silence, smiling tiredly at each other at times. It was undoubtedly the cutest thing that had ever happened to Frong and he wanted to savour every moment of it. He might have enjoyed it all a bit more if he wasn’t so hungover but all the same it felt like the highlight of his existence. Cutting some slack to his hungover self he let himself imagine for a while that he and Thara were actually dating and Thara bringing them breakfast in bed was a romantic act and not just a precaution because Frong was too hungover to walk to the kitchen. He imagined himself being allowed to take Thara’s hand and kiss him on the cheek as a thank you for the breakfast. He let himself fall into his dreamworld just for a moment to comfort himself from the harsh reality that he must have made a fool of himself last night and couldn’t even remember it.

His thought process was interrupted as Thara asked him all of a sudden: “Why did you dye your hair?”

Frong was completely taken aback by this question and wasn’t sure how to answer it since he didn’t want to give him the real answer.

“I.. um.. it was kind of an impulse decision”, he said and looked up at Thara who seemed to ponder on this answer.

“Yes. You seem to be quite an impulsive person”, he said finally.

Frong wasn’t sure if this was meant as a compliment or an insult. Thara continued however: “I like that about you. You’re genuine.”

Frong blushed. Thara didn’t say anything more but ruffled Frong’s hair a bit and then got up and took the tray back to the kitchen.

Frong went after Thara and helped him clear the dishes. After that they went to see Cupcake. She was wide awake and came to see Thara’s hand right away as he put it in the terrarium.

“I bet she’s hungry. Do you want to give her something to eat?” Thara asked Frong who agreed. He had gotten already kind of familiar with the lizard and didn’t find it as gross as he had before to feed her the worms (he still didn’t want to touch the spiders).

After Frong had fed her a couple worms Thara gave her some other insects and a piece of fruit. Then he checked that everything was okay in the terrarium; the heat lamp was working and the temperature was right and the humidity was optimal for Cupcake. Then he cleared away all of Cupcake’s poops and made the terrarium look nice and clean. Frong helped what he could but mostly he just watched as Thara bustled around. He was thankful he didn’t have to touch the poop.

“Oh, I forgot!” Thara said sometime after they had cleaned Cupcake’s terrarium.

“I took some pictures at the camp and I haven’t gotten round to sending them to everyone. Would you like to see them?” he asked, looking quite excited and Frong said he really would.

They sat next to each other on the couch and Thara took out his laptop. Looking at the pictures Frong thought that Thara was actually a really good photographer. There was a picture of them all sitting in the bus as they were about to head to the camp and a picture of Cupcake in her little container. There was a picture of Mek and Boss assembling their tent and holding their thumbs up, a picture of some girls laughing and playing on the grass, a lot of pictures of different insects and plants and suddenly a picture of Frong standing in the stream shirtless. Frong felt a sudden hotness around his neck and he glanced at Thara who looked at the picture with his brow furrowed.

“I had forgotten that this was still here. I told you back at the camp that I would delete it but it seems that I haven’t gotten round to do it”, he said and turned to look at Frong.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t delete it. I hope you don’t feel uncomfortable”, he said earnestly.

Frong shook his head. “No need, Phi. You don’t have to delete it. It doesn’t bother me.”

He smiled reassuringly to Thara who nodded. A hope had once again risen in his chest.

After they had looked through all the pictures Thara had taken on the trip and reminisced a little, Thara remembered that he had gotten a message from Frong’s mother that morning.

“I forgot to tell you, I’m sorry. I didn’t read it though”, he said as he handed his phone to Frong.

“It’s alright, Phi”, he answered with a laugh. “I doubt there was anything very secret in that message.”

As he had suspected his mother had just said that she was glad he was safe and that she would see him when he got home.

“I probably should be heading back soon”, he said to Thara after he had read the message. “My mother probably wants me to come home already. Thank you for everything, Phi.”

“No problem, Nong. This was fun. But would you like to go grab something to eat before you go home? It’s been a while since we had breakfast”, he asked. Frong felt something warm and fuzzy stiring in his chest at the thought that Thara wanted to spend more time with him and he agreed.

It felt like an actual date. Frong couldn’t help himself because no matter how hard he tried to tell himself that this was just a lunch with two brothers it just seemed like an actual date. Thara had lent him a clean shirt to put on but otherwise Frong was wearing his own clothes now (except the boxers which he still didn’t know how he would return without it being too embarrassing). They were sitting at a small restaurant and had just eaten their foods but Thara wanted to get some dessert too. He ordered a chocolate sundae and asked the waiter to bring them two spoons.

“Why two?” Frong asked him confused.

“Well, so we can share”, Thara said casually. “I can’t eat the whole thing myself and I’m not afraid of your germs. It’s actually really good for you and your immune system to get different bacteria in your system. That’s why kissing is good for you too.”

Frong stared at him. Why would he be talking about kissing now? He considered Thara for a moment before deciding that two could play this game. Somehow after his drunken shenanigans Frong had found a new braver side of himself and asked with a smirk :“Do you do that a lot then, Phi? Boost your immune system?”

“Well, I do take all sorts of vitamins and -” Thara began but seeing the smirk on Frong's face he realised the joke. “Oh, that. Well, not that often no.”

Frong chuckled and Thara smirked back at him.

“Just with the french girl then?” Frong asked trying to disguise it as an innocent joke but being actually very serious. Thara raised his eyebrows to him.

“Didn’t we talk about this last night?” he asked.

Frong frowned. “Did we?” His memories of last night were still a bit of a blur.

“Yes, we did”, Thara said smiling again. “Besides, you don't get as much bacteria from just kissing on the cheek. You need to actually exchange saliva to get all the benefits of it”, he said unabashed and took the ice cream the waiter had just brought to the table.

“Uh, right”, Frong said, feeling his cheeks getting very hot. He turned his attention quickly to the dessert in order to hide his red face.

As they left the restaurant Thara said he would walk Frong home. He had also insisted on paying for the food, though Frong had tried his best to say that it was his treat since he had rudely invited himself to a sleepover at Thara’s and Thara had been such a gracious host. Thara wouldn’t hear of it however and now Frong felt like a female lead in a drama being courted by a handsome suitor. He didn’t mind at all.

It was probably the date-like atmosphere that made him suddenly ask: “Have you ever dated anyone, Phi? Or are you dating anyone now?” he added quickly wondering how he had never even thought about the last possibility. What if Thara was already dating someone and Frong was here stupidly getting his hopes up? He waited for Thara’s answer with bated breath.

“No. I’m not dating anyone right now and I haven’t ever really dated anyone. Not seriously at least.“ Thara said smiling.

“How is that possible?” Frong blurted out before he could stop himself.

Thara laughed. “Why are you so shocked?“

“But you are.. well, you’re a doctor and friendly and .. good looking” Frong said mumbling the last words making Thara laugh again. “I bet people would be queuing to date you.”

“Thank you, Nong. But I don’t know about that. I’m a med student so I'm always busy. And there’s never been a queue. I wouldn’t even want that. I just want to find someone who’s perfect for me. The one, if you will.”

Frong’s heart was melting. Handsome, smart, kind _and_ romantic. Oh how he wanted to kiss Thara right then and there.

“And what about you?” Thara asked him. Frong looked up at him.

“What about me?” he asked stupidly.

“Well. Have you got a queue?” He smirked at Frong playfully.

“Ah, no, Phi”, Frong said feeling a bit shy.

“No? Even though you were almost the moon last year. I bet there were a ton of people after you. Are you too picky, Nong?” Thara teased jokingly.

“Well, my options are a bit limited”, Frong said hoping Thara would understand his meaning.

“Ah, I see”, Thara said and nodded jovially.

“It’s also that.. I can be a bit embarrassing”, he continued. “That’s one of the reasons why I ask my friends to take my phone when I’m drunk.” He glanced at Thara who looked at him curiously and continued: “Oh nothing bad, Phi, I promise. It’s just that… I may or may not have drunk dialed a couple of people while we’ve been going out. I tend to get a bit embarrassing when I’m drunk. As you might have noticed.”

Thara laughed at this. “I don’t think you were embarrassing. I think you were adorable”, he said making Frong’s pulse skyrocket.

“Really, Phi?”

“Yes”, Thara said simply and smiled.

“What kind of people do you like then?” he asked with something of a twinkle in his eyes.

“Uh, well. I like people who are kind and smart and, um, passionate about something”, Frong said, now trying his hardest to avoid Thara’s gaze.

“Hmm, I get that”, he said and then: “What’s Duen passionate about?”

Frong’s heart skipped a beat. Why, why, WHY did Thara have to ask him that? Of all things! He did not want to talk about Duen, especially with Thara.

“Uhm, he… um, well. I don’t really know, I-” he began but as he couldn’t form an intelligible answer Thara interrupted him.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s not my business.” He smiled kindly to Frong.

“He’s just very nice”, Frong said after a moment. “But I don’t have any feelings towards him anymore. He and Bohn seem happy together and I’m happy for them.” Thara didn’t say anything to this.

After a while Frong gathered up his courage and asked Thara: “What kind of people do you like, Phi?” He tried to prepare himself to hear the word ‘woman’ but thankfully it never came.

“Well, I agree with you. I too like people who are kind. I also like people who are sincere and don’t shy away from being who they really are. I like honesty”, Thara said making Frong feel very warm inside.

They parted at Frong’s homegate. Frong thanked Thara one last time for everything and Thara said it had been his pleasure.

“Oh and Phi. Come by the flower show someday and we’ll go through the plants I looked up for Cupcake'', Frong reminded Thara who agreed to come at the beginning of the week. Then they said goodbye and Frong turned to go inside. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so happy.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the next Tuesday when the bell on the flower shop door chimed and Thara stepped inside. With a jolt in his stomach Frong looked up and smiled at him saying: “Hello, Phi. Are you here to look at the plants for Cupcake?” Thara nodded with a smile and Frong led him to the backroom. 

“First can take care of the shop for a while”, Frong said as First went past them and greeted Thara with a wai. 

“Sorry, Phi. It’s a bit cramped in here”, Frong said as they weaved through the small room filled with boxes and plants and sacks of dirt.

“It’s alright”, Thara said looking around smiling. “It’s quite cozy.” 

They sat in front of a computer in the backroom and Frong took out a file he’d made for Thara. 

“So, here”, he said feeling a little nervous and started presenting Thara with all the options.

’’I figured you might not want any cacti. They are easy to maintain, but you know, they’re prickly so Cupcake could hurt herself. Most of what I gathered here are succulents because they like dry and harsh conditions and are native to deserts. There is of course aloe vera and jade plant which are quite common and then there is this cute little plant called red pancake which has these big flat green and red leaves. I think it’s quite nice. I also think that Cupcake might like this fox tail agave since the leaves are so big that she could very comfortably lie on them. It might be too big though, depending on how big you want the area to be. If you want a pop of colour there’s this desert sage or the desert marigold which are both pretty. Then there is also this mexican feather grass that Cupcake could hide in. I thought she might like that too.” 

Frong talked and talked and showed Thara picture after picture of the plants he thought might be nice for Cupcake’s little garden. Thara looked keenly at the pictures, pointing and commenting as he saw a plant he liked. In the end Thara picked out five different plants which he wanted and Frong made an order on them. Then he drew a picture of the possible layout of the miniature jungle and presented it to Thara. He was most pleased with it. 

“Would you come to my place to plant them with me after they’ve arrived?” he asked Frong excitedly. “I’m afraid I’m not that great with plants and you seem to know a whole lot of them. I could really use your expertise.”

Frong nodded, feeling a little giddy. “Of course, Phi. It’s my pleasure.” Thara beamed at him. 

Frong couldn’t remember ever waiting for a delivery so anxiously. He pestered his mother and brothers by asking at least thrice a day whether the plants Thara had ordered had yet come. He forgot all about his plans of keeping his feelings for Thara on the down-low and was becoming so obvious that behind his back his family had started throwing each other meaningful looks as he talked about Thara. So, as the day of the delivery finally came Frong wasted no time in texting Thara: “They came! Let’s build a jungle.” 

Later that day Thara came to pick up his delivery and Frong who had agreed to help him with the planting. Frong was bursting with excitement to see Thara again and as he took Thara to the back of the shop his mother and First shared a knowing look. There was so much to carry that they couldn’t get it all in one go but luckily Thara lived quite close to the shop.

“You can start already, Phi, while I go get the rest”, Frong said as they got to Thara’s place. As he left he could see Thara looking around scratching his head and looking a bit lost. He stifled a laugh and shut the door after him. 

As he got back and kicked off his shoes Frong heard a faint noise from the other room saying: “Help me, Nong. I have no idea what I’m doing.” 

Peeking into the room from the door he was facing such a mess that he hadn’t seen the like in a while. He burst out laughing as he saw Thara in the middle of all the mess looking miserably at him.

Frong had never thought there could be something Thara wasn’t good at. But now seeing him blundering around with the plants and making a mess with the bags of dirt he found him more adorable than ever. 

“Here, let me”, he said saving the poor plant from him and putting it aside. Thank goodness he’s not a surgeon Frong thought to himself as he saw the aloe vera with two broken leaves. He shook his head smiling to himself before he turned back to Thara and sat next to him on the floor. 

“Let’s put the dirt and the rocks at the bottom first, Phi”, he said and was pleased to see Thara doing as he instructed him. 

They were building the miniature jungle in Cupcake’s old terrarium which was a bit smaller than the one she lived in now. Thara poured the dirt on the bottom and looked expectantly at Frong for more instructions.

“Now, it has to be very dry so we should mix some sand with the dirt. And remember not to water the plants too much or they’ll die.” Thara nodded looking like he was concentrating had on what Frong was saying. How cute was he with his serious little pout. 

When they had gotten the base ready they started unwrapping the plants Thara hadn’t unwrapped yet. Thara’s hands, very skilled when fixing people, seemed surprisingly clumsy when it came to handling plants. Frong watched with trepidation as he opened the wraps around a small fox tail agave but he managed to get it out in one piece. He bumbled a little however and dropped some dirt in Frong’s lap. 

“Oh, I’m sorry”, he said and tried hastily to get the dirt off Frong’s trousers. 

Frong laughed. “It’s okay, Phi. Just- Hey, watch it!” he cried out as in his haste to clean up Frong’s pants Thara had dropped some more dirt on him. 

“How dare you”, he laughed and then suddenly took some dirt in his own hands and drew one fat line on each of Thara’s cheeks with it. Thara looked at him surprised and laughed before he too took some dirt in his hand and smudged it on the tip of Frong’s nose. After that it was a full blown dirt fight. 

Breathless and panting slightly they sat on the floor laughing and wiping dirt off their faces and hair. Thara ruffled Frong’s hair which was now grey with dirt and laughed. Seeing Thara like this, with dirt all over his face and hair and clothes, laughing with pure happiness and his eyes crinkled Frong couldn’t help himself anymore. And there, sitting on the floor, surrounded by plants and dirt and with Cupcake as their audience Frong kissed him. 

For three wonderful seconds Frong forgot all about reality. He forgot that he wasn’t supposed to do this, he forgot that Thara wasn’t his boyfriend, he forgot that in fact they were phi and nong, brothers, just friends. For those three wonderful seconds he forgot to breath, he forgot to think, he forgot to worry. And for those three amazingly wonderful seconds he kissed Thara like he had wanted to kiss him for so long. Sitting on the floor he had leaned forward placing his hand on the back of Thara’s head where his fingers got tangled with Thara’s hair. He had pushed their lips together gently but with undeniable fervor. Sucking very lightly on Thara’s lip he could taste the sweet, intoxicating savour that made every cell in his body scream: More! MORE!

Yet after those three seconds he pulled away. With his heart beating a thousand beats per minute he let go of Thara and moved further away on the floor. “I’m sorry”, he said very quietly and looked at Thara afraid of his reaction. They sat in a stunned silence for a moment and Frong felt like he might scream if Thara didn’t say something soon. But Thara just looked at him looking confused. Finally he said: “What are you sorry for?” 

Frong stared at him feeling disorganized. 

“I- that I kissed you. And... I like you”, he said timidly. 

Thara was still looking at him puzzled.

“Why are you sorry for that? Do you regret it?” he asked, making Frong feel more confused than ever. 

“Well, no”, he said his heart in his throat. 

Thara looked at him silently for a moment before he said: “Good.”

After a slight pause during which Frong didn’t know what to do with himself Thara said softly: “Come here” and Frong scooted over to him. Thara lifted his hand and wiped off very gently some of the dirt from Frong’s face and hair. He let his hand rest on the side of Frong’s face and stroked his cheek while looking him in the eye with the most tender expression Frong had ever seen. Frong didn’t almost dare to breathe so that he wouldn’t break the spell and the moment would last forever. After what felt like a small eternity Thara said: “You are a bit impulsive, Nong. And that’s why I like you.”


	6. Chapter 6

It took a while before Frong and Thara moved from their spot on the floor. They just sat there for a long time looking at each other, smiling shyly and trying to get used to the idea that suddenly everything had changed between them. The air was filled with electricity and excitement as they came to the realization of what it all meant. Thara had taken Frong’s hands in his and was now stroking them very gently making shivers run all over Frong’s body. You could almost taste the atmosphere, the nervousness and the anticipation. It was a moment Frong thought he could never forget. They didn’t really need any big words. Frong didn’t have to tell Thara how much he felt towards him, how he was head over heels in love with him. The time would come for such declarations. For now ‘I like you’ was enough.

There was a wordless understanding that the plants could wait for tomorrow. They left the room as it was, the dirt all over the floor and a few of the plants still in their wrappings. As they stood up and left the room Thara took Frong by the hand. Oh how such a simple thing could make Frong’s heart want to leap out of his body.

Thara led him to his room and said: “Go and have a shower. You’re all covered with dirt.”

Frong nodded and they smiled at each other before he disappeared behind the door.

As he got in the bathroom he looked at himself from the mirror. What had just happened? He couldn’t believe it. He buried his head in a towel and let out a silent scream. Was this truly real? Maybe he had hit his head and was hallucinating. Maybe he was still asleep and this was just a very vivid dream. Maybe Thara had just tried to be nice to him and had vanished when he got out of the shower.

But it truly was no dream and Thara was still there when Frong got out of the shower. He had put a pile of fresh clothes ready on the bed for Frong and was in the kitchen making food when Frong entered the room. He smiled widely at him.

“Come, I’ve made something to eat”, he said and pulled out a chair for Frong.

“Thank you”, Frong said and sat down.

“Help yourself. I’ll only be a minute”, Thara said before he vanished into the bathroom.

Frong looked after him and then around the table. There was some kind of a soup and some salad. The soup smelled amazing and as Frong took some on his plate and tasted it he noticed that it was actually delicious. How lucky he would be if he had Thara as his boyfriend! Handsome, smart, kind, romantic _and_ a good cook. But they hadn’t said the words ‘boyfriend’ or ‘dating’ yet and Frong was terrified to ask. Though he was sure now that this was in fact no dream he didn’t want to assume anything too hastily.

Thara came back from the shower before Frong had even finished his first plate. Walking out of his room with his hair wet, dressed in sweats and a hoodie he looked dreamier than ever. Frong was afraid his eyes had turned into cartoon hearts as he stared at him.

“You like?” Thara asked and Frong had to take a second to realise he was talking about the food.

“Oh, yes. It’s delicious”, he said and Thara looked pleased.

He sat down next to Frong and they ate in silence, throwing each other a shy smile here and there.

After they had eaten Thara put away the plates and asked: “Um, I was wondering. Would you like to spend the night?”

Even he seemed a bit nervous. It was comforting to see for Frong. Clearly he wasn’t the only one with feelings. He smiled and nodded and then said:”Yes. I’d like that” making Thara smile as brightly as the sun.

As he was going to spend the night Frong decided to text his mother to say that he wasn’t coming home. He wrote: I’m staying at a friend’s. Everything is alright. See you tomorrow.

After a moment his mother replied: Yes, Frong dear. Say hello to Doctor Thara from me.

Of course she knew, _of course_.

“My mother knows I’m here”, Frong said to Thara, feeling very much embarrassed. “And she says hi”, he added burying his face in his hands.

“Of course she knows you’re here. We told her you would come to help me with the plants'', Thara said, clearly not understanding Frong’s agony.

“Yes, Thara. But you know, she knows I’ll be sleeping here.”

“Yes, you will be sleeping here”, Thara said smiling annoyingly.

“Yes, but she _knows_ ”, Frong said emphatically, stressing the last word. Thara grinned at him and ruffled his hair.

“It’s a good thing she likes me then”.

Frong rolled his eyes at him but couldn’t help smiling too.

“You know, she told me a while ago that I should make you my boyfriend”, Frong said, trying to sound casual.

“Did she?” Thara said with a wide smile. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Well, what do you think about that?” Thara asked coming a bit closer to Frong.

“What do I think about what?” Frong asked knowing fully well _about what_ and his heartbeat started to rise.

“About making me your boyfriend.” Thara said now coming even closer. “Would you like that?”

Frong felt the heat rise on his cheeks and he couldn’t hide the smile that was spreading on his face.

“Well, what do you think?” he said trying to play time.

“Well, I think it’s a pretty good idea”, Thara said with a sweet smile. Frong gulped.

“You do?” he asked a bit breathlessly.

“Yes, I do”, Thara said more seriously, standing now extremely close to Frong who felt a little shaky.

“I do, too”, Frong said so quietly that it was almost a whisper.

His whole body felt hot as he stood there with his heart pounding in his chest before finally Thara closed the distance between them and kissed Frong gently and lovingly. Frong wrapped his arms around Thara’s neck and buried his fingers in his hair letting himself melt into his arms at last. Done with holding himself back he wasted no time before he deepened the kiss and sucked on Thara’s lip tasting the saltines of the food they had just eaten. He could feel Thara’s tongue sliding into his mouth and he welcomed it with a quiet moan. Thara’s hands were holding his waist and their bodies were pressed tight together as they embraced each other in the middle of Thara’s living room.

That night when they went to bed Frong was lying in Thara’s arms feeling like he had to be the happiest man on the planet. Thara was stroking his hair with one hand and the other was on Frong's, their fingers laced together. Frong was getting very sleepy as he was surrounded by the safety and warmth of Thara’s embrace.

Before he drifted off to sleep Frong lifted his head a little and said: “Can I ask you for just one thing?”

“Hmm?” Thara said sleepily, playing lazily with Frong’s hair.

“Never _ever_ call me nong again.”

Thara laughed and kissed him on the forehead.

Wrapping Thara’s arms around himself, Frong smiled contentedly and fell asleep.

The end


End file.
